


Petunia

by Taarbas



Series: Surfacers [5]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Little bit of angst, Petunias tagged with a name cause she'll be showing up in other stuff too, poor thing really needs ahug, theres a kiss in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 16:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6573415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taarbas/pseuds/Taarbas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tracy builds a giant robot and desperately wants to kill some stuff with her. X6 can't believe he's gone from a Courser to a glorified babysitter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petunia

“Ma’am...what  _ is  _ that?” X6 stared up at the hulking metal giant, craning his neck to see what served as its face. Was that…? Yep. Definitely a Deathclaw’s skull. Tracy popped up from behind it, draping herself across the robot’s leg.

“Ain’t she a cutie?!” She gushed, sitting up. “I built her this morning! Her name’s Petunia and she’s our new friend, right sweetie?” Here she looked up at the bot, grinning in barely restrained excitement. A warm feminine voice echoed through the skull, replying with a gentle,

“Of course, ma’am.” X6 stared, wondering if someone had put something in his food this morning. Deacon would be the most likely candidate, but Hancock and MacCready were just as much of a pain in the ass. Tracy, however, seemed unphased, instead climbing off the large robot and jumping down about a foot away from him. 

“She’s got Sentry Bot legs,” She explained, gently patting one of Petunia’s legs, “A modded Assaultron head, a shock baton on one arm, and a missile launcher on the other!” Tracy beamed, looking between him and Petunia. “So...whaddya think?” She was hoping for his approval. Silently, he turned on his heel, beginning to walk away. Her face fell. “Hey! X, what’s wrong?” She ran after him, and he could hear the metal clank of Petunia’s bulk following. 

“I am getting Nick,” He explained, not slowing his pace. She caught up to him, her face scrunching up.

“Why?”   
“You clearly are on some sort of chems. If I get the ghoul, he will only encourage this behaviour,” He explained, scanning Sanctuary. He wished it was dark out, it made finding the elusive detective so much easier. 

“C’mon X!” Tracy groaned, sounding like a petulant child. “I’m not high. I’m just bored, and I thought making some robot friends would be fun. And it was! I spent all morning on Petunia, the least you can do is  _ try _ to be nice to her,” He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, finally spotting the detective by a set of power armor. He seemed to be arguing with Danse and Hancock. 

“Well then it was a morning wasted, ma’am,” He replied, heading towards the group. Tracy caught on and darted off, taking Petunia with her. As he approached, he began to catch snippets of their conversations. 

“That  _ thing _ is an abomination!” Danse spit, jabbing his finger towards the street. Nick sighed, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep inhale. X6 didn’t understand why he smoked, he got nothing out of it. When he’d asked, Nick had just replied that old habits died hard. 

“She has a name!” Hancock piped up, the much smaller man glaring at Danse. “And besides, she makes Tracy happy, so it’s all good, right Nicky?” Nick shook his head, finally spotting X6 and gesturing for the other man to join their little group. 

“I just wish she was a little less dangerous. Tracy couldn’t, I don’t know, build an eyebot or something? Or another Mr. Handy? Heaven knows she loves Codsworth,” Hancock glared, sticking his tongue out at the detective in another of his childish displays he was so fond of. 

“Tracy’s happy Nicky. Aren’tcha happy for her? Besides, imagine what Petunia could do to the next group of raiders that come knocking. It’d make Pickman look like child’s play,” X6 looked between the three men, wondering if he could stomach siding with the ex Brotherhood Paladin on something. 

“Robots, synths, they’re all abominations!” Danse snapped, glaring down at Hancock. “Tracy shouldn’t be dabbling in the creation of them. She already spends too much time with them,” He gave a pointed glare at X6, who set his jaw. He wondered how angry Tracy would be if he were to punch the Paladin in the mouth. A metal hand closed around his shoulder, needle like fingers digging into the leather of his coat. Nick glared at Danse, yellow optics seeming to brighten in anger. 

“Don’t forget that Tracy hates that kinda talk, jackass,” His words were punctuated by the smoke from his cigarette pouring out of his mouth, giving him the appearance of an overheating Sentry Bot. “And I doubt she’s tested Petunia yet. A mouthy Paladin sounds like a good target to me, how about you X6?” Hancock grinned, baring his teeth at the Paladin, who took a small step back. 

“I think he would provide a decent target, sir. Perhaps a little too slow for moving target practice, though,” Danse’s face twisted in anger, a retort on his tongue before an arm slung around his shoulder, squeezing just a little too tight to be a friendly hug. Tracy loomed over him, the taller woman having managed to approach near silent even with the bot in question at her heels. 

“I don’t use live targets doll, you know that. I might make an exception though, if I hear another abominations comment,” Her grip tightened and Danse’s face paled. “But I doubt I’ll be hearing any of those, right soldier?” X6 couldn’t stop the smirk from pulling at his mouth. Tracy could be downright terrifying when she wanted to be, and as prior experience would have it, she tended to get terrifying whenever someone started bad mouthing synths or ghouls. Danse had been on the brunt end of this multiple times, and yet the Paladin hadn’t learned. Not even learning he was a synth seemed to stop his prejudice. X6 wondered if Tracy would have him decommissioned, though he highly doubted it. Tracy seemed to horde broken things, himself included. 

“Affirmative, miss,” Danse squeaked out, ducking out of her grip and making some excuse about having to fix something on his power armor. He retreated with his tail between his legs, narrowly avoiding running headlong into Petunia’s leg. Tracy’s glare followed him, her arms crossed over her chest as she turned back to the other three men. 

“Thanks for not punching him X6. I know it’s hard sometimes. And Nick, thanks,” She didn’t elaborate, but the detective nodded anyway. The praise left a warm feeling in X6’s chest, even if it was for something that honestly should have been considered standard behavior. 

“Tracy, we actually were hoping to talk to you,” Nick began, glaring at Hancock as he spoke. “We get you’re excited about this new workbench, but doll, could you  _ please _ stick to things that are a little less dangerous? No offense to Petunia, but she’s not exactly a harmless little eyebot. People might get scared,” X6 found himself nodding in agreement. He wasn’t used to questioning his superiors, but this was just flat out dangerous. Tracy could easily get herself hurt traipsing about with that contraption following. He wasn’t about to let her get hurt just because of some misguided belief that she could befriend the hulking giant behind her. Hancock looked inclined to argue, but a stern glare from Nick shushed him. Tracy’s harsh demeanor didn’t drop, her upper lip twitching the only indication Nick’s plea had an effect at all. 

“Petunia is fine just the way she is. She’s not gonna hurt anyone, right Petunia?” At the mention of her name, the bot perked up, nodding quickly.

“I will only attack if ordered, ma’am. Right now my current AI allows me to differentiate between friends and enemies. I only shoot enemies unless ordered otherwise, ma’am.” That seemed good enough for Tracy, who turned back to the group of men.

“See? Harmless,” X6 sighed. 

“Ma’am, even you can see that your logic is flawed. Heavily flawed,” She shrugged.

“Well you guys don’t have to come with me. I’ll just go all on my lonesome. No...I’ll just go with Petunia!” Her face lit up. “She can keep me safe and I can keep her safe,” Tracy leaned against the large robots leg again, and X6 could have screamed. How could she not see that it wasn’t safe. 

“Ma’am, you’ve never tested i-...Petunia before. How do you know it will go well?” Nick muttered his agreement, chewing the end of his cigarette. 

“If you’re so worried, come with,” She replied without missing a beat. He hesitated, looking between the large robot and Tracy. 

About an hour later he found himself in the city of Boston, not too far from Goodneighbor. Around him, gunfire roared, stray bullets thudding into the car they had ducked behind. Well, Tracy and him ducked. Petunia was still looming over the vehicle, launching missiles at those unfortunate enough to be in range. Cackling, Tracy pulled the pin out of a fragmentation grenade, throwing it over the car and dragging him down with her as the raiders started yelling. Within a few seconds, a loud blast shook the car, bloody bits of people flying past. They had been closer than he thought. “Petunia! You’re doin’ great!” She shouted over the roar, X6 desperately trying to find a new place for them to duck behind. The car was badly damaged, and he didn’t want to be crouched behind it when it blew, especially with Tracy. 

“Ma’am this is dangerous!” He snapped, grabbing her arm when he spotted a semi tipped onto its side. “We are getting out of here!” Her protest was lost in another missile going off, this one closer than before. They were getting closer, and he wasn’t sure if Petunia would keep firing missiles if they had a chance of hitting Tracy. He frankly didn’t want to risk it. Dragging the irresponsible human behind him, he ducked behind the semi, the metallic roar of Petunia moving telling him she followed. 

“What gives?! This is good stress relief!” She shouted, trying to climb the undercarriage to fire over the truck. His grip on her arm didn’t falter, forcing her to stay next to him.

“I am not letting you get hurt, ma’am!” She glared, pulling stubbornly. Petunia sat a few feet away, launching more missiles.

“The targets are almost cleared out, ma’am,” The robot explained, and Tracy groaned, pulling at his grip. 

“C’mon X!” He ignored her, dragging her farther back and clutching her to his chest. She squirmed, trying to free herself to no avail. Petunia seemed to understand his intentions, charging forward into the fray and dealing with the remaining raiders. Seemingly at once, the small square went silent, the only sound left being their breathing and the blood rushing in his ears. Tracy quit squirming, instead glowering at her shotgun that lay just out of reach. 

“The area is secure, ma’am,” Petunia chirped, rumbling into view. Tracy muttered a thank you, glaring up at X6. Before she could start questioning him, he began his explanation.

“You are the future of the Institute, ma’am. You cannot be going off and doing things like this,”

“Says the one who willingly admitted to employing Pickman-esque shit on his victims,” She grumbled. He chose to ignore that.

“The Institute wants you in good health….I want you in good health. Running headlong in raider camps, robot or no, isn’t how you achieve that,” She looked up at Petunia, clearly hoping the robot would take her side. To X6’s unending surprise, she didn’t.

“Your courser is correct, ma’am. This was dangerous, and as my creator I don’t want you hurt either.” Tracy cocked a brow, clearly not done arguing. However, she remained silent, managing to wriggle out of X6’s grip. 

“Keep that up and I’m gonna start to think you got a crush,” She said offhandedly, picking up her shotgun and announcing they’d be heading home. He hoped she was wrong. 

“You care for ma’am, yes?” Petunia asked as they made their way back to Sanctuary, Tracy walking a ways ahead in the hopes of coming across some unsuspecting sap. If they turned out to be raider, they were as good as dead. X6 was quiet for a long while, simply watching Tracy. She was kicking a can they had found in a ditch, her heavy boots having put multiple dents in it. “More so than your creators intended,” She continued, and X6 got hit with a wave of guilt at that. In all actuality, he was a failure to the Institute. Sure, he may keep Tracy relatively safe, and he may even deliver her home in one piece, but he did care too much. If the Institute were to order him to kill her, he didn’t think he could do it. Hell, if it came down between the Institute or her, he wasn’t even sure what he’d choose. On one hand, the Institute was his home. He owed his entire life to its one establishment. On the other, Tracy made him feel a little less like an outsider. She was patient, and taught him how things worked on the surface without ever getting angry at him for choosing wrong or misunderstanding. A heavy weight was in his chest, slowly creeping up to rest on his tongue. 

“Of course. I must care for her, the Institute demands it,” He answered, swallowing around the lump in his throat. He had seen her with the ghoul before, her fingers lingering on his ruined flesh, her mouth on his when they thought no one was looking. Then again, he had seen her behave in a similar way with the detective. He wondered if it was a surface custom that was still beyond his understanding, or if she truly was attracted to them. He didn’t want to know the answer. 

“Yes, of course,” Petunia replied. “I may be new, but I see the way your behavior shifts, courser. You are a surface puppy at her heels,” 

“And you are any better, bot?” 

“Fair enough,” She rumbled along silently for awhile, joining him in watching their human dart about the empty street. With a loud gasp, Tracy disappeared, fear seizing X6. Hefting his rifle, he bolted after her, afraid of what he might see. Super mutants, gunners, raiders, Radscorpions- His panicked thoughts died down as she came rushing back up to him, a mostly eaten away piece of fabric clutched in her hands. Without warning, it was swung around his neck, pulling him down to her level as she worked the two ends into a knot. She was just short enough for him to have to bend down for her to reach comfortably. 

“There! You’re always cold, so I’ve been looking for a scarf for you. That shop over there, thought it was picked clean, but then I saw this by the mannequins feet,” She beamed, patting the old yarn. “Do you like it?” Behind him, he could hear Petunia chuckling as heat enveloped his face and neck. He doubted it had much to do with the scarf. Looking down, he examined the old thing, plucking at loose bits of yarn with gloved fingers. It was dark green, so dark that at first he thought it was black. The yarn had a slight shine to it, almost as if it were iridescent. 

“Thank you, ma’am. It is...practical,” He knew it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but he didn’t know how else to praise the item. To call it pretty could deny its usefulness. To call it usefull could deny its attractiveness. She didn’t seem displeased, instead smiling and gently patting his shoulder. 

“It’s no problem. You look nice,” Leaning in, she kissed his cheek, darting away as quickly as her lips touched his skin. “C’mon! Let’s get back before it gets dark,” All irritation at being pulled out of her self-destructive tendencies was gone, replaced with a giddiness he hadn’t seen her express in ever. Slowly, his hand came up and cupped his cheek, shielding the place her lips had touched. He didn’t quite know what it meant, but it made heat sweep through him from toe to head. A mix of his stomach knotting and his chest lightening left him standing completely still, struggling to process what just happened. Petunia rumbled past, her light chuckle a large contrast to her heavy bulk. 

“Just as the Institute wanted me to care for her, hm?” That snapped him out of it. With a huff, he followed, keeping his chin up and eyes firmly fixed ahead. He would not let her get to him. 

“What was that?” He asked, unsure of whether or not the bot could even know. 

“A kiss. Humans do it to show affection. It can be platonic, or romantic. I don’t know what that was,” She admitted, shrugging her massive shoulders. “I suppose you’ll have to ask. Or wait and see.” 

“She kisses the ghoul and detective in a similar manner.”

“She could be dating them both. I have heard of this human thing called monogamy. Apparently they devote themselves to one person and one person only. Some reject this belief and end up with multiple lovers. From how ma’am behaves, I’d say it is likely she rejects it,” Here she gave another shrug. “It never made any sense to me, to be frank.”

“You just got made,” He pointed out, and she shrugged again. 

“Does it make sense to you? Should someone ignore all other loves in favor of one? One that may not even be the right one?” He mulled it over for a few moments, before shaking his head. Another surface custom he didn’t understand. 

“You two are lagging behind again!” Tracy called over her shoulder, stopping to wait for them. “What’re you even talking about? I thought you didn’t like her, X.” He chewed the inside of his mouth, not wanting to lie and not wanting to admit the truth either.

“We were discussing your foolish stunt, ma’am,” Petunia chimed in, and X6 felt his heart sink. Tracy, however, just snickered.

“We all got our coping methods Petunia. At least I don’t drink myself half blind anymore. Not that you were around for that,” She shrugged, and X6 felt like tearing his hair out. He wished she wasn’t so casual with her tendencies. He wished he could have helped her through it. 

“When did this happen, ma’am?” She asked, all innocent curiosity. Tracy whistled, clearly puzzling it over. 

“I don’t know...probably 210 years ago? A long time ago, I was married to someone I couldn’t stand…” X6 found it was hard for him to listen. All he could focus on was how much he wanted to help her. To keep her safe like she did him. He was going to go mad. 


End file.
